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+---- Thread: *Grizzlies Fail to Fly (/showthread.php?tid=12573)
*Grizzlies Fail to Fly - terriblehippo - 03-14-2019
Code:
Ready to be graded (1059 words)The Pacific Owls are winless no more.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Grizzlies began to pull ahead with two field goals in the second quarter. But the Owls, sensing another loss, answered back with furious play on offense and defense. A pick-six made by Andrew Solomon swung the momentum the Owls' way. Both teams scored field goals in the fourth quarter, but the Grizzlies failed to make anything of their fourth-quarter offense, and a Ryan Leaf Jr. rushing touchdown as time expired gave the Owls their first Prospect Bowl win, 9-17.
Forrest Gump continued to prove why he's one of the best running backs in the Bowl, rushing for one hundred and forty-seven yards on twenty-nine attempts (although he wasn't able to find the endzone all game). He now stands as the Prospect Bowl's leading rusher, with only one touchdown to show for his efforts. Wide receiver Ahri Espeeyeeseetee caught eight balls for ninety yards, the bright spot in the Grizzlies' passing game. On defense, safety Martavius Mack had a breakout game, recording twelve tackles and shattering his previous single-game tackle performance of seven tackles. Guy Nikko matched Mack's efforts, recording twelve tackles of his own.
Quenton Bode showed off his versatility this game. He recorded a career-low six tackles, but made not one but two sacks. We caught up with Bode after the game:
Question: Despite the defense's best efforts, the Grizzlies dropped this game to fall to 1-2. Is this loss a direct result of the failures of the offense?
Answer: "Football is a team sport. Period. Could the offense have played better? Yeah. But half of the game is our responsibility, the defense's responsibility. We could have played better too, and if we had we might have been able to walk away with the win today. It's like blaming the kicker when he misses the go-ahead field goal. Like yeah, he missed, but there was a whole lot of football played before that moment. He was in that position because of the failures during the rest of the game. You can't blame one person because the rest of the team failed to do their job. This is a team loss, same as every other loss, and same as every win. It's on the team as a whole, not just the offense."
Q: The Foxes are sitting at the top of their conference, having gone 3-0. How do you feel sitting at first in your conference, but at 1-2? Are the Foxes the better team?
A: "The Foxes are a good team, no doubt about it. They're gonna make the playoffs, and they'll have to get through us if they want to win it all. But to say they're the better team is to ignore some of the facts. Look at us, for example. We're 1-2, which isn't great. But we haven't played a single home game throughout this tournament; all of our games have been away games. Now look at the Foxes--they've played every single one of their games at home. They haven't played on the road, and speaking as a player, road games are much harder to play. So just to look at the standings and say 'Yup, Foxes are superior,' that's just ignoring so much information. Change the schedules around, and we might be the unbeaten team, while the Foxes are 1-2. So I think this tournament is far from over, the results are far from final, and we're right where we want to be: at home."
Q: You play the Midwest Wolfpack next. How do you plan on stopping them?
A: "I mean, the final plan will be up to the coaching staff, and I trust them to prepare for this game. If I had to guess as to what that plan might be, it would probably be similar to our other game plans: shut down their passing game and force them to run the ball. We've been pretty effective against the run, I think, and it's hard to win games when you can't get your passing game going. Our secondary has shown that they have what it takes to stop the passing game, so if we can force them to play the game we want them to play, I think we'll be alright."
Q: Final question. Your performance on the field and your conduct off the field have definitely gotten you noticed. You were projected to be go fairly early in the upcoming DSFL draft, but recent reports indicate that your draft stock is continuing to climb; one anonymous source tells me that you could go as early as the second round. How do you respond to that?
A: "Not gonna lie, that would be amazing. When I was a cub, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about being the first overall pick. That probably won't happen with this draft: there's just too many talented players, and I know I'm not close to them skill-wise. But honestly, it doesn't bother me that much where I get picked. I know that it matters to a lot of players, probably more than it should matter. Who cares when you get drafted, as long as you get drafted at all? And people say, 'Oh, it's for the money,' but I didn't start playing football for the money. I play football because I enjoy it. So if I get taken first overall, or with the very last pick, I'll be happy, because I get to continue playing football. I get to keep doing the thing that I love to do, and I even get to get paid for it. So I'm content to just sit back, watch the draft, and celebrate when I get picked, whenever that is. The round I get drafted in doesn't affect my ability to play or to work hard. I'll be the same player no matter when I get picked."
The Grizzlies make their first home stand next week against the Midwest Wolfpack. Despite being 2-1, the Wolfpack are second in the Rookie Conference, and will be looking for a win to help put them over the top.
*Grizzlies Fail to Fly - PDXBaller - 03-14-2019
Griz will bounce back!
#GrizzNation
*Grizzlies Fail to Fly - Beaver - 03-14-2019
Terrible hippo, great polar bear.
And great point about home vs road disparities.